Economy
Airtel Africa Moves to Return Cash to Shareholders With $110m Buyback
By Adedapo Adesanya
Airtel Africa has launched a share buyback programme worth up to $110 million, signalling confidence in its strong balance sheet and financial flexibility as the telco seeks to return value to shareholders.
The company disclosed in a notice filed on the portal of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited that the programme would involve the repurchase of up to 1 per cent of its issued share capital as part of its capital allocation policy.
The telco further stated that all shares repurchased under the programme would be cancelled as the sole purpose of the exercise is to reduce the company’s capital base.
“The sole purpose of the buyback programme is to reduce the capital of the company. As such, all shares purchased under the buyback programme will be cancelled,” the notice stated.
According to the organisation, the initiative reflects the board’s confidence in the group’s financial position and its ability to continue investing across its African operations while rewarding shareholders.
“The board’s decision reflects the continued strength of the Group’s balance sheet and its ability to preserve financial flexibility while supporting ongoing investment to capitalise on the compelling growth outlook across the Group’s footprint,” the notice stated.
Airtel Africa said it had entered into an agreement with Barclays Capital Securities Limited to execute the programme through on-market purchases of its ordinary shares, which would subsequently be acquired by the company. The agreement, according to the notice, consists of two parallel elements.
Under the non-discretionary arrangement, Barclays will independently purchase between $50 million and $60 million worth of ordinary shares without influence from the company.
The second component is a discretionary arrangement under which Airtel Africa may instruct Barclays to purchase up to an additional $50 million worth of shares, subject to the provisions of the Market Abuse Regulation.
The programme commenced on May 22, 2026, and is expected to run until no later than November 27, 2026, unless terminated earlier in line with the terms of the agreement.
Airtel Africa said further tranches of the programme could be announced later to enable it fulfil its objective of repurchasing up to one per cent of its issued share capital as at the date of the announcement.
The telecommunications company also explained that the purchases would be carried out in line with shareholder approvals, UK listing regulations and market abuse rules. It noted that shareholders had earlier granted the company authority at its annual general meeting held on July 9, 2025, to repurchase a maximum of 366.07 million ordinary shares.
Following the completion of an earlier buyback programme, Airtel Africa said the remaining authority available for repurchases currently stands at 357.04 million ordinary shares.
The company further disclosed that Barclays may continue executing the discretionary portion of the buyback autonomously during closed periods under irrevocable and non-discretionary instructions permitted by regulation.
The new buyback announcement comes weeks after Airtel Africa reported strong financial and operational performance for the year ended March 31, 2026 (Q1), supported by growth in data usage, mobile money services and improved profitability across its markets.
According to its audited financial statement, the group recorded a 29.5 per cent increase in revenue to $6.42 billion from $4.96 billion in the previous year, while profit after tax (PAT) rose by 147.4 per cent to $813 million from $328 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The decline in the share price of Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 1.02 per cent on Wednesday, August 12.
The securities depository company suffered a N10.88 loss to close at N106.00 per unit compared with the previous day’s N116.88 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation, for the third time this week, closed lower, losing N28.04 billion to finish at N2.720 trillion compared with the N2.748 trillion it ended a day earlier. The NASD Security Index (NSI) dropped 46.71 points to end at 4,532.03 points versus Tuesday’s 4,578.74 points.
Yesterday, there was a price gainer, which was FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc. Its price increased by N13.50 to N170.00 per share from N156.50 per share.
The level of activity for the session waned on Wednesday, with the volume of securities down by 89.8 per cent to 150,340 units from the previous session’s 1.5 million units. The value of securities slumped by 55.9 per cent to N18.7 million from N42.3 million, and the number of deals depreciated by 37.3 per cent to 32 deals from Tuesday’s 51 deals.
At the close of business, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc was the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units transacted for N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 77.2 million units traded for N5.5 billion.
GNI Plc was also the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units exchanged for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units sold for N415.7 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Foreign exchange (FX) pressure eased on the Naira on Wednesday. August 12, at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX). Its value appreciated against the United States Dollar by 0.17 per cent or N2.31 to close at N1,360.58/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,364.89/$1.
The Nigerian Naira also improved its value against the Pound Sterling at midweek at the official FX market by N1.62 to quote at N1,840.99, in contrast to Tuesday’s rate of N1,842.61/£1. It gained N3.49 against the Euro during the session to settle at N1,572.01/€1 versus the preceding session’s N1,575.50/€1.
However, the Naira depreciated against the greenback yesterday at the GTBank forex counter by N3 to sell for N1,370/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,367/$1, and at the parallel market, it maintained stability at N1,395/$1.
Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) indicated that interbank FX turnover rose sharply by 481 per cent to $168.758 million from $29.060 million due to an increase in banks’ activities as intermediaries for their customers.
The apex bank data indicated that the number of deals at the interbank FX market surged to 190 from 47 the previous day.
As for the digital currency market, benchmarked tokens were more positive in line with the US inflation report that eased nerves but failed to spark a broad crypto rally.
Headline inflation rose 0.1 per cent on the month and 3.4 per cent on the year, with the core measure that strips out food and energy up 0.2 per cent and easing to 2.5 per cent.
July inflation matched forecasts, reinforcing expectations that the Federal Reserve can wait on further rate moves and prompting modest gains in gold, equities and some digital assets.
TRON (TRX) grew by 0.7 per cent to $0.3374, Binance Coin (BNB) jumped by 0.4 per cent to $612.84, Ethereum (ETH) rose by 0.3 per cent to $1,892.73, Solana (SOL) increased by 0.3 per cent to $76.37, and Bitcoin (BTC) added 0.2 per cent to sell at $63,768.51.
On the flip side, DOGE slipped by 1.6 per cent to $0.0705, Cardano (ADA) lost 1.1 per cent to end at $0.1844, and Ripple (XRP) declined by 0.7 per cent to $1.01, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 apiece.
By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited tumbled by 1.12 per cent on Wednesday as a result of selling pressure in three of the five key sectors of the bourse.
Yesterday, the insurance space rose by 0.71 per cent and the energy counter appreciated by 0.02 per cent. But these gains were erased by the three other sectors, with the consumer goods index down by 4.93 per cent, the industrial goods sector down by 0.42 per cent, and the banking segment down by 0.30 per cent.
Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) receded by 2,756.48 points to 243,967.09 points from 246,723.57 points, and the market capitalisation dropped by N1.762 trillion to close at N157.494 trillion compared with Tuesday’s N159.256 trillion.
The worst-performing stock for the day was BUA Foods, which lost 10.00 per cent to trade at N760.60. Unilever Nigeria shed 9.97 per cent to close at N131.40, John Holt depreciated by 9.90 per cent to N9.10, AVA Capital declined by 9.50 per cent to N8.10, and Austin Laz crashed by 8.81 per cent to N2.90.
The best-performing stock for the session was International Energy Insurance, which chalked up 10.00 per cent to quote at N4.40. Ecobank gained 9.93 per cent to settle at N71.40, Trans-Nationwide Express expanded by 9.77 per cent to N2.36, CWG grew by 9.74 per cent to N21.40, and Cornerstone Insurance improved by 6.80 per cent to N5.50.
Yesterday, 1.5 billion shares were sold for N20.9 billion in 39,085 deals compared with the 3.9 billion shares worth N32.4 billion exchanged in 45,608 deals a day earlier, representing a decline in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 61.54 per cent, 35.49 per cent, and 14.30 per cent, respectively.
On top of the activity chart was Fortis Global Insurance, with a turnover of 853.2 million units sold for N2.6 billion. Universal Insurance exchanged 251.8 million units worth N214.1 million, Chams transacted 40.0 million units valued at N181.0 million, First Holdco traded 28.3 million units worth N3.9 billion, and Access Holdings sold 25.4 million units valued at N702.4 million.
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